Wednesday, January 30, 2013

If there is one thing that I've learned from dating Ross, it's that I should always take care of myself. Weird, right? You would think I would have known that my whole life, but I honestly didn't. I use to always put pampering myself on the back burner because there were so many other things I "needed" to be doing. I feel like many of us do that these days, especially twenty-somethings. We don't have time, don't have money, and so on and so on. I've learned that taking care of myself is especially important when I'm stressed out...which it so happens that I am this week and every other week.

One remedy for stress that I've come across recently is taking an epsom salt bath. I hesitated trying this at first because who has time for a bath?? However, desperate times call for drastic (and rather wonderful) measures. I drew one up this afternoon and it was AMAZING. The only things missing were candles to set the ambiance.

You can find epsom salt at any of your local grocery stores or pharmacies. I bought a huge bag for $5 at Target. I used Dr. Teals* Relax Spearmint epsom salt. It was perfect.

So, what are you waiting for? Treat yourself this week and take a relaxing bath. If you don't have a bath tub, I do recommend soaking your feet in this stuff. It's magical. I don't recommend letting your puppy in the room while you're bathing/soaking. Kimber tried hopping in a couple times! It was adorable.

I hope this helps you get over the hump! Happy Wednesday!

*This is not a sponsored post. It's just my opinion and recommendation.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Right now, I'm slowly redoing our bedroom. One of the hardest things about decorating a home is that it takes about a million years. Our home is a three bedroom, two and a half bath two story rental home, so there is a lot of space to decorate. We moved in last July and I still have bare walls. It's driving me nuts. I wish I could just go out and buy everything I want at once, so that I won't have to wait so long, but alas...the struggles of a college student.

I've been trying to find the look and feel that Ross and I would both like, so I pulled a few images from my Pinterest board, My Little Home to sort out inspiration for our room. The picture in the middle on the bottom is basically what I'm aiming to achieve. I already have the same duvet and a white quilt on our bed, as well as a large rectangular mirror hanging on the wall above our bed. The only thing I want to do differently is have dark wood night stands, like the one's shown in the lower left picture. Ross and I really want a place that is relaxing and a retreat for us after a long, stressful day. This is why I started heading into the gray, white, and cream tones, and want fresh flowers for pops of color.

OH, and believe it or not, I do not have a night stand. I know, it's bizarre! I have barely been surviving. Of course, Ross has his old night stand on his side of the bed. I think instead of buying two new night stands, I'm going to refinish Ross' and find a table about the same height as his for my night stand. I also want to keep a pitcher of water and a cup on Ross' night stand because he always asks me to get him a glass after I'm all warm and snuggled in bed. (I know, it's one of my silly first world problems.)

So, keep an eye out these next few months for room updates and DIY's. I'll be sure to take a before picture to show you what I'm dealing with right now. My room is so sad looking. :/

Monday, January 28, 2013

Do you ever reflect on the friendships you have and wonder why you are friends with a certain person when all they do is create negativity in some way? I experienced this over the weekend and realized that I wasn't the person who I wanted to be when I was around a certain person, so I walked away. It was refreshing. Negativity is contagious and life is too short to catch that cold. So this week if you catch yourself being sucked into someone else's bad vibes, I urge you to walk away. I'm not saying that you should burn bridges, but just take a step back from that person and surround yourself with people who have qualities that you admire and aspire to have.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Lately, I've been thinking about the future. Okay, let's be real. I think about the future all the time. I should say that I've been observant of everyone around me lately. It seems as though everyone complains about things being "difficult." I'm guilty of it too. I am always looking to take the easy route. When faced with a task, I always think, "How can I succeed without doing so much work?" I'm sure many twenty-somethings think this as well. That's why I challenge you this week with this quote. Stop thinking about how you can cut corners and still be successful. Work hard and dedicate 100% of yourself to whatever you are doing. Even if you fail, at least you gave it your all.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Sorry for being late! Today was the first day of class, which means I've been super super busy. I stumbled across this quote on Pinterest a couple days ago and feel it's very fitting for many of us twenty-somethings going back to campus this week. We don't know what we're doing and that's okay. What's that saying? School gets in the way of college. It's fine if we don't know what we're doing for the four years (or five for those super seniors) we're in college. Heck, I'm about to graduate and I still have no idea what career path I might follow. Make the best of your time in school by not focusing on the endgame and living in the present. You may be surprised to find out how much more fun and less stressful school can be. Happy Monday!